Current conventional ignition coil assemblies for internal combustion engines, in particular those for vehicular applications, include a sizeable steel laminated core and associated primary and secondary coil assemblies encased within a fairly thin electrically insulating thermoplastic housing. With reference to FIGS. 4 and 4A, an electrical connector 200 connected to the primary coil protrudes through a slot adjacent the upper rim of the housing. Since the lower edges of the slot and the connector are below the level of the potting material 98 filling the interior cavity of the housing, a generally U-shaped grommet 202 made of a pliable rubber is used to seal the interface between the connector 200 and the housing 204.
Correctly assembling the housing, the connector and the grommet during a high volume, high speed production process not only requires the extensive use of manual labor but often results in an improperly seated connector. This can result in a void adjacent the grommet that allows the heated potting material to drain out of the housing during the curing process.
The present invention is directed to resolving these concerns, while maintaining an efficiency and reliability of design that will minimize the use of manual labor and the critical nature of the rubber grommet to housing and/or connector seal.